Varden Expeditionary Fleet's Story

; “Major Denis fuckin’ Nandor, Butcher of Basha!” The Saber’s door slammed shut and the Major was joined by a small entourage of other officers. Two Lieutenants, a Captain and a Master Sergeant all stood around an impromptu checkpoint some hundred meters from the crash site as a nine ton Chieftan drone lunged from one rocky outcropping to the next on it’s way to the Reverence. “Gentlemen -- Sally Chalcis, you find any meat yet?” Nandor inquired, adjusting the pull-down visor of his helmet and disengaging the small computer readout that was fixed over his eye.

“Just corpses and bullet biters. Anyone’s who’s alive buttoned themselves up in the ship. There’s a team getting ready to move on a power coupling right now.” Nandor took a tablet device from one of the Lieutenant’s as he began towards a crest in the hill marked by a marine gun emplacement; the 96mm towed gun pointed towards the Reverence down in the valley below. He looked up to see the pair of Annihilator’s passing low again over the shields of the ship as they flickered and died.

“One more sliver of the Empire, huh Major?” A Master Sergeant remarked, the Scatterran spitting out the butt of the cigar as he loaded a magazine into his AC-9 carbine; the close-in quarters of fighting onboard a ship was far more conducive to a carbine than a full-sized assault rifle.

“You don’t stop hornets from making a nest by asking kindly. Get me a readout of this ship and find the deepest hole in it.” The Major demanded as he sent off the two Lieutenants and a Master Sergeant with a salute. Turning to the Captain the Aschen soldier placed a hand over the speaker of the communicator rigged to his chest.

“Clean out the waste and we salvage whatever’s left. Data infrastructure, software, and transmission records. Don’t waste bullets, Captain.” Major Nandor sent the Captain off with one last remark, and then ushered himself to the passenger’s side door of a Saber armored car. A transmission squawked loudly over the communications as the marine Major clambered into another convoy en route to the crash site.

“Varden Expeditionary forces this is Major Nandor you will stand down immediately and prepare to hand over your prisoners of war after a formal exchange and debriefing -- that ship and that crew is now marine infantry real estate. Varden forces will be granted the enlisted crew and you will forfeit over that vessel and it’s commanding officers promptly.” Major Nandor put the receiver back into the holder as another pair of Annihilator gunships promptly joined the overwatch as a transmission emanated from the wreckage.

“You have thirty minutes to comply by segregating the crew into deck ratings and officers, preparing them in their stations for disembarkation from the ship and forestalling any activities to compromise or otherwise damage the integrity of the vessel. Your cooperation is appreciated, stand by and you will be relieved.”

Behind the Coalition lines, the rythmic song of deafening footsteps echoed through the foliage of the Hidden Glen, a shadow casting itself over the Saber tanks and the Coalitioin personnel within them. The towering form of a King Oni walker stepped up behind Coalition lines, while a Tsunami Tank rolled up alongside the saber, followed by a pair of Sudden Transports.

Disembarking from the Sudden transport was a young Taiyou commandant, the supreme commander of the 1st Imperial armada, Ayako Katamura. Slowly she stepped up to the Coalition lines, flanked on either side by Imperial warriors.

"Whose in charge of this operation?" She said, coming up to the driver side of the vehicle. "I need to speak with the Commanding Officer." She said, handing the nearest UCON officer a data disc containing tactical data from a previous engagement. "Coalition forces are to relinquish all real estate jurisdiction from this particular Reverence immediately." She said, moving past the group to observe the dead ship below. "This is a confirmed kill from the ITN Suzuhara no Abe, a Yamato class Battleship and therefore falls under Imperial Taiyou jurisdiction. We ask all surviving personnel be handed over to us for immediate processing."

---

Commander Bentley and Admiral Whitcomb turned to Aaric, and then they looked to the screen showing the King Oni towering over the ridge. "The Taiyou were the ones that shot us down, no doubt here to kill the rest of us off... if UCON is demanding officers and you're getting enlisted.."

In the rear of the bridge, there was a sudden groan, and a person stumbled fourth into the CIC, prompting salutes from both Admiral Whitcomb and Commander Bentley. "President Kane!" They said, and the other man held his head. "I was knocked out in the fight.. what happened?" He said, clutching the declaration of surrender in his hands, signed and notarized by the quorum.

"We've been shot down by the Taiyou, and UCON, the Taiyou, and the Varden are arguing over who picks over the kill." Whitcomb said, Kane nodded and then reached for the communicator.

"This is President Jarrod Kane, what assurances do we have that we will not be harmed, I have an important message to deliver to the Coalition executive government.. and was en-route to deliver said message to the Coalition..." He said, waiting for a response.

Aaric raised a brow and eyed Whitcomb who had regained consciousness and was now speaking to President Kane. Of course his face was hidden behind his PDS helmet. “We did not respond to this crash site to finish you off, salvage your technology, steal information, or take hostages. We responded to this site to provide medical assistance and found you and your vessel to be in need of rescue.”

The squad sized element continued to perform the tasks issued as commands, setting up a perimeter. “Since the reformation of your government the mandate, at least as far as the Aschen are involved has been suspended. The conditional declaration of war by the Varden on the Aschen has been suspended per the request of Kianna McGregor before the reformation and expunged by the act. This is true unless you choose to continue hostilities that are described in the still existing mandate which I can go into detail on at some other time. Our intent is to provide you transport to an Aschen system...”, he said as he eyed the declaration in the President’s hand. “… where you could issue any declaration from a safe location.” He turned his head back up to look into the President’s eyes. “Thirty minutes is more than enough time for us to organize such an evacuation but the intent to detonate an NaNBC weapon or device with NaNBC capability and range here would cause me to reconsider. I must know of your intent.”

Aaric waited for President Kane’s response as President Kane waited for the Coalition’s. The communication Aaric had transmitted repeated once more and then was dropped.

; Colonel Arthur Slaw watched the Taiyou mech traverse the skyline, nearby Coalition aircraft in slow burns overhead like a picturesque resemblance of the Tripartite. “We have a perimeter established here Commander but that ship’s a red-zone. We only have two gunships inbound now, you can’t move anything heavy in the area or you might compromise the remnants more. We need to step back and keep this zone clear of any more god damn intruders okay? We already have the Varden in there claiming prisoners of war.” The Azrican hitched a thumb back towards a smoke cloud billowing over the horizon, as another small convoy of armored cars rolled out past the Coalition checkpoint. “Twenty meters away is the mobile command center, we’re receiving full transmissions from the site now.”

In the command center a technician pointed another enlisted man over to a holoboard as the other hand clutched the headphone to his ear. “Sonuvabitch the fucking President of the Confederation was on that ship -- we need to get them the fuck out of this ET gagglefuck now.” The enlisted man took a tablet device from his hand and quickly sprinted through the large tent to a Master Sergeant with his feet up on a desk.

“Fuck Wills you’re always on duty for the worst shit, god dammit we need a dispatch to Slaw now and you need to get a shake-down on the line from Regiment!” The Master Sergeant nearly toppled over the desk as he took the tablet device and disappeared out of the flap door.

An engine sprang to life as the stripped-down Saber turned over and a marine special operator threw away the camouflage netting that had been previously draped over it. Around him, three other Saber’s that comprised MAG Alpha Six’s special infiltration vehicles sputtered as their engines burned to life and their crew readied the sprinting vehicles for their mission. On the gunner’s deck of the first Saber a masked soldier yanked the bolt back on the 14.7mm three barreled rotary cannon, and a thumb toggled the electric chamber of the 7mm revolver gun co-axial to the rotary.

“You think this is fuckin’ real? Just a random Reverence the Tiy’s shot out of the sky … war’ll be better off without another one.” Another masked gunman said from the exposed back seat of the Saber that came rolling out of the tiny dug-out garage. The driver pulled goggles over his eyes and made one last adjustment to the helmet on his head before pointing a finger out of the car.

“Time to realize why you’re paid to shoot instead of think, remember why you didn’t join Intelligence. Buckle up and roll marines, we’re meeting some SRI sissies for a nice walk on the Reverence.”



Several kilometers above the wreckage site the bay door of a Vedama heavy transport jet slowly lumbered open, leaving the platoon of khaki-colored soldiers spectator to the calm, gradual colors and sights of the ground below them; all marked with the charred image of the Aschen Reverence below them. “This is Six Three, we’re ready.”

“See ya’ later, stupid.”

The first soldier took a running jump out the back of the airjet, with his arms and legs spread out beside him as he plummeted down through a patchwork of clouds and felt the tug of the chute loft him in the air on a descent to the ship. “I’m inbound, triangulate that transmission onboard the ship and standby to hack directly into the onboard life monitors.” The soldier’s face was obscured in a blank helmet made of a single plate as he used a computer module on his forearm as the ground began to close in. “I’m inbound in ten -- get ready with the Eyeglass, I don’t want any unnecessary surprises while I’m dangling out here waiting for those poor Group fucks.”

Commandant Katamura scoffed a moment. "Varden claiming prisoners of war my ass." She said, taking a pair of binoculars from an Imperial warrior and bringing them to her face, watching the scorched hull of the ship. "Finders Keepers. Take the crew, we get the ship." She said, turning back to Colonel Arthur.

"And it's Commandant, not Commander. A Commander controls a single ship, an Admiral commands a fleet, Commandants command Imperial fleets flagged by the Emperor." She corrected, her accent marring her words only slightly. "I've got four more King Onis in bound, and Sudden Transports to take control of the crew, I can have officers and enlisted transported to Coalition custody, I also understand the President is on board." She said, frowning.

"That complicates things... never the less, with this new intelligence, the Prince has elected to come here to Terra so we can negotiate the surrender of the Aschen Empire." She said, staring out at the ship.

"Best have your heads of state on the horn as well." She said, while being handed a communicator to communicate with the Varden.

"Attention representatives of the Varden Federation, this ship is a designated Taiyou kill, you will surrender the Aschen crew to Taiyou or Coalition custody immediately-- This is non-negotiable, you have thirty earth seconds to signal compliance or we will engage."

She turned to one of her Imperial Adjutants, a young Taiyou man in a crisp black uniform.

"Sono fune ni notte idō suru tame no junbi, Aschen sa rete inai nanika o korosu." She ordered, and the man nodded quickly.

"Hai, Wakarimashita."

Ayako then turned back to the Colonel. "It's strongly advised that all Coalition assets move to immediate cooperative to targeting all Varden assets. This is going to spiral out of control fast." She advised.

---

President Kane simply shook his head, then sent anothe transmission. "I have an urgent message to deliver to the COalition and Taiyou heads of state, my staff and myself are ready to transfer to Coalition or Taiyou custody, so long as we're not harmed." He advised, while Whitcomb and Commander Bentley turned to eachother, then to Aaric. "I wouldn't challenge the Taiyou... problem is the Taiyou are liable to gut us as soon as they take us out." Whitcomb said, but the radio waves were split asunder as a single Taiyou sudden Transport passed overhead, unlike the standard white wash, this was bathed in a deep crimson, and it bore the Imperial Seal, Prince Takayama was already on station.

Aaric tilted his head to the sky for a moment before turning back to the collection of Aschen leaders. ‘The Pike is in position and is awaiting green status on the PJP. They will light the beacon on your command Admiral.’, EGO communicated with Aaric. The Varden Admiral raised a brow though none of the Aschen could see his expression. “I am not about to start a war trying to rescue people that do not wish to be rescued. Such an act would be akin to kidnapping. I hope for your sake and the sake of your people that you are making the right decision Mr. President.”

‘Disseminate.’ Aaric thought and EGO responded. ‘Target?’ The thought in reply came next. ‘The Aschen.’ A device, resembling a steel flower opened on the PJP. A trillion specialized and highly advanced nanites swarmed the site, seeking out Aschen personnel. They would painlessly attach themselves to the survivors of the Thunderous Song as dictated by EGO unless otherwise stopped or prevented. The PJP shimmered and vanished from sight.

‘Transmit to the Coalition, repeating the President’s attempt at communication.’ Aaric thought. ‘The communication is being repeated…’, EGO replied. Threats issued by the Taiyou or other organizations meant nothing to Aaric or other Varden leaders. Like always he acted in accordance with reason and the principles instilled during a long career. Once the communication was complete Aaric transmitted to the Coalition and the Taiyou. "This is Admiral Aaric Arlan, Field Marshal, Second in command of the Varden Expeditionary Theater. I would normally inquire as to the name and title of the individual representing the Taiyou in matters of diplomatic relations but the Varden will be withdrawing. Such inquiries then are moot.”

Aaric turned his head in the president’s direction and continued to transmit. “It would behoove the Coalition and Empire to give fair and just treatment to these detainees, applying neither torture or the threat or action of execution. Aaric out.”

‘Have the Pike light the beacon.’, Aaric thought. EGO transmitted an audible alert to every member of the squad. They all turned to look in his direction as Aaric turned to the President, the Admiral, and the Commander. “Good luck.” ‘Three, two, one, jumping…’, EGO communicated to each warden. Space seemed to stretch and boil around their forms. For a moment they were still there and yet not. They were there and also somewhere else. A nimbus of bright light engulfed them and shot out from them where they had been standing but not into the air. The rays traveled down, encountering the ground beneath their feet and vanishing. This same process took the VTOL and the defensive positions the Varden had previously set up to include the Casters, Charges, MAGs, and HCBs that they had dug in to defend the Aschen.

The night had come slowly for the people on Niihama, the sun began to slowly set across the horizon, causing a brilliant orange light to be draped across the des of the Taiyou Emperor, Nobuo Takayama.

He stared at the reports in silent costernation, a few moments before another file was placed before him, followed by a hot cup of tea, Admiral Nagumo offering a bow before the Emperor.

"Tenno Heika, this is an emergency report from Admiral Yamamoto, with an addendum prepared by Commandant Katamura regarding actions perpetrated by a force identified by our contacts in the Aschen Confederation as the 'Varden Hegemony' " Nagumo said, the Emperor pulling the file up and reading it over, shaking his head.

"They attack our soldiers without warning? They threaten and posture across the Milky Way galaxy?" He said, looking up to Nagumo, before turning down to the reports. "A Sniper team, two Jigabachi attack helicopters, and a sudden Transport and her crew destroyed by the overwhelming force displayed by the Varden Military." Nobuo said, looking up. "My daughter can handle negotiations with these Varden Barbarians, they so clearly desire war with the Taiyou Empire, than we shall prosecute the war as such." Nobuo said, while Nagumo nodded.

"Admiral Nagumo, Inform General Hayao to prepare his forces for an incursion into the Milky way, inform Admiral Koji to prepare the 3rd Imperial Armada for an incursion into the Milky way, and lastly, prepare a declaration of war to be issued for the actions the Varden have committed with wanton capriciousness." Nobuo said, pursing his lips.

Nagumo nodded. "I will carry your order out." He said calmly. Nobuo then scowled.

"I want Admiral Hasegawa to prepare the 5th Imperial Armada, find the homeworlds of these... Varden... leave no survivors."

Nagumo nodded quickly. "Your Imperial majesty." he said, before he ducked out, leaving the Emperor in solitude.

The following is a transcript, broadcast through Taiyou Media the following text was prepared and issued to the people of the Empire.



By the grace of Heaven, Emperor of Niihama, seated on the throne occupied by the same dynasty from time immemorial, enjoin upon ye, Our loyal and brave subjects:

We hereby declare War on the Varden State/Hegemony/Federation. The men and officers of Our Army and Navy shall do their utmost in prosecuting the war. Our public servants of various departments shall perform faithfully and diligently their respective duties; the entire nation with a united will shall mobilize their total strength so that nothing will miscarry in the attainment of Our war aims.

To ensure the stability of This local Galactic cluster and to contribute to intergalactic peace is the far-sighted policy which was formulated by Our Great Illustrious Imperial Grandsire and Our Great Imperial Sire succeeding Him, and which We lay constantly to heart. To cultivate friendship among nations and to enjoy prosperity in common with all nations, has always been the guiding principle of Our Empire's foreign policy. It has been truly unavoidable and far from Our wishes that Our Empire has been brought to cross swords with The Varden.

The Taiyou Empire of Greater Niihama, in the effort to continue the stability and prosperity for all people has elected the declaration of Total War against all Varden Military, Civilian, and Industrial assets in the Milky way Galaxy and beyond.

The Taiyou Empire will seek to remove or destroy all Varden Military, Civilian, and Industrial assets from the Milky Way Galaxy, and deter a return to the Milky way through sustained hostility against the Varden assets. This removal will be either by demand or through force.

The Taiyou Empire will see to locate, and prosecute the Home worlds and Geopolitical capitals of the Varden Nation, to disrupt normal Military-Civil complexes through the use of orbital and suborbital bombardment and the total destruction of planetary biospheres.

The Taiyou Empire hereby demands an immediate redress of grievances with the Varden Government prior to the prosecution of the terms of this Declaration of war, as well as a formal apology and compensation for the attacks on Taiyou military forces engaged in operations on Terra.

They have obstructed by every means our prosecution of Aschen Imperialists, Terrorists, and other threats, menacing gravely the existence of Our Empire. Patiently have We waited and long have We endured, in the hope that Our government might retrieve the situation in peace. But Our adversaries, showing not the least spirit of conciliation, have unduly delayed a settlement; and in the meantime they have intensified the military pressure to compel thereby Our Empire to submission. This trend of affairs, would, if left unchecked, not only nullify Our Empire's efforts of many years for the sake of the stabilization of the Milky Way, but also endanger the very existence of Our nation. The situation being such as it is, Our Empire, for its existence and self-defense has no other recourse but to appeal to arms and to crush the Varden and it's allies

The hallowed spirits of Our Imperial Ancestors guarding Us from above, We rely upon the loyalty and courage of Our subjects in Our confident expectation that the task bequeathed by Our forefathers will be carried forward and that the sources of evil will be speedily eradicated and an enduring peace immutably established in The Milky way, preserving thereby the glory of Our Empire.

In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hand and caused the Grand Seal of the Empire to be affixed at the Imperial Palace, Niihama City, this second day of the 5th month of the 15th year of Shōwa, corresponding to the 12,602nd year from the accession to the throne of Emperor Shogo.

One minute into the bombing...

The Taiyou had yet to move off grid. Yamamoto had yet to even issue the order...

A single Varden Fortress Class Capital Ship flanked by two Dreadnoughts, four Destroyers, and eight Corvettes exited warp between the planet and the formidable Taiyou force. The number difference was staggering. At the current capital ship count present on the grid the Varden were outnumbered by the Taiyou exactly 25,000 to 1. Total ship count, excluding craft smaller than a traditional frigate put the numbers closer to 6666 to 1 with the Taiyou having slightly more than 100,000 ships compared to the 15 the Varden had deployed.

Nuclear ordinance started to detonate against the shields of the only capital class vessel that the Varden saw fit to send to the engagement. This field of force billowed out, eclipsing the region the Taiyou were assaulting and shielding the planet below. 'Officer on grid. Evaluating current situation… Fleet links engaged. Adapting Aurora...', EGO relayed as luminescent beams connected the Varden ships. Scanning enemy units... Dispatching SITREP to SOL STAT. Awaiting orders from on grid commander. Admiral Rye Apis taking command.’ EGO relayed and displayed across multiple HUDs.

"Ahead full. Let’s turn their guns.", Apis broadcasted to the rest of the small gang of ships. He growled in irritation at the feeling of the nuclear weapons exploding against the ship’s shield array. 'Softening Aurora. Deploying nanite cloud.', EGO relayed. Quite suddenly the Varden ships were obscured in a steel colored cloud. The detonations ceased nearly completely. Instead of receiving hard impacts against the shield systems the kinetic energy of the nuclear ordinance of all 100,000 ships was reduced to a manageable velocity before the ordinance itself was torn apart at a molecular level. The nuclear and other material remains were reprocessed by the same nanites that tore them to sunders.

'Broadcast to Terran force and send the recorded file from ST05 Patronus.', Apis thought and EGO responded. 'Channel open. Data sent.', EGO relayed to Admiral Apis. "Terran force. This is Admiral Apis aboard the Whisper. Enclosed is a video file relating to what caused this engagement and the subsequent escalation. Please take the time to review it. In the meantime it is recommended that you not engage the Taiyou force. We will be drawing them away from Terra. Over.", he broadcasted, giving the Terran force an opportunity to respond. ‘Aurora at 98% falling at .1% per micron. Gang Capacitor is at 97% and stable.’, EGO displayed on his HUD. ‘Primary and secondary target?’, the AI queried. Apis marked the ship he believed was the Taiyou fleet’s flagship and a secondary capital ship closer to the front. All fifteen ships locked the Taiyou flagship despite its position at the rear of the Taiyou formation and the secondary target. ‘Let’s give them a moment to escalate before we start creating frozen corpses.’, Apis thought.

"Sir, the Varden Cowards have revealed themselves." A Lieutenant said to Admiral Yamamoto whom stroked his chin. "I will dictate peace terms from their home planet." He said, before he nodded. "All guns on those ships, switch to shield penetrating and nano ordinance. Buy some time while the fleet makes the appropriate preparations." He said, before a slender hand rested on the Admiral's shoulder.

"Perhaps cooler heads will apply, Admiral Yamamoto." The voice said, while another Weapon officer shouted. "Sir! We're being targeted!"

"Light Hawk Wings on standby!" Another officer reported.

The young man nodded. "Open a channel."

A Helms officer nodded, and the Nagato attempted to open communication with the Varden Command ship. Shimizu silently waited for a connection and reply. "Audio and video channels." He ordered, a crackling viewscreen came to life in front of the Taiyou Prince.

The Prince spoke up. "This is the Imperial Taiyou Flagship of the First Imperial Armada, Nagato, requesting a response."

The response was blackness. It was not the absence of a response but the transmission was a field of black. There was audio. "Greetings Nagato. This is Admiral Rye Apis commanding and piloting the Whisper, the capital ship currently recieving fire from your fleet. Unfortunately I cannot transmit a video feed at this time. For what reason have you opened communications?” Thought was translated directly into the audio transmittion that the Taiyou recieved.

The Varden gang continued to move so that the planet would no longer be in the Taiyou's field of fire. '‘Aurora at 97% falling at .1% per micron. Gang Capacitor is at 97% and stable.’, EGO displayed on his HUD.

There was a brief pause. "This is Crown Prince Shimizu Takayama, I have opened communications to demand an explaination to the blatent hostile actions taken against Imperial forces carrying out operations on Terra. Furthermore the men you captured are to be repatriated immediately to the nearest Taiyou Ship." He said flatly, smoothing down his outfit.

"Your actions have been blatantly hostile, and interfering with not one, but two Taiyou military operations. For what reason do you deem it nessecary to attack our forces?" He said, Yamamoto and his staff working behind him.

"We do not need to have this fight over Terra, we're no longer hostile with them, However your actions have been construed as an act of war. And we will prosecute all Varden military assets in this galaxy unless negotiations can be reached. Fortunately for you, I am qualified to hold such negotiations. And therefore I request an immediate ceasefire and an audience with the leaders of your nation."

'EGO transmit video file, ST05 Patronus.', he thought and EGO did as commanded. "Your forces engaged Terran civilians. Terra, her people, and related organizations are protected under the SOL Mandate. Your forces are guilty of war crimes directed at civilians haboring enemy cobatants but not actively participating in hostilities and against individuals declaring Aschen citizenship but not actively participating in hostilities. You are guilty of using nuclear ordinace within Terra's atmosphere."

The Whisper started to turn her bow to face the Taiyou fleet and align with the Nagato. The other ships followed suit. ''‘Aurora at 98% recovering at 1% per micron. Gang Capacitor is at 97% and stable.’, EGO displayed on his HUD.

There was a short pause and then the audio continued. "You are no longer hostile with Terra and yet you murder their civilians and detonate nuclear weapons above and on the surface of their planet. Your actions should be considered an act of war against Terra and the organizations that represent her. Your response is as expected. Reports I am recieveing list your men as killed in action. The causes of their death are sucide and your own nuclear ordinace. We are not firing. How and where would you propose a meeting of national leaders take place?"

Yamamoto quietly shook his head while Shimizu listened in silence, reviewing the video and listening to the explaination. A young servant besides the Prince took notes for him, while he reviewed the footage.

"Tell me, under what authority do you have to be charging the Taiyou with War Crimes? Under what Laws? As I understand it, the Varden operate in a Galaxy far from this one, certainly, outside your borders your laws do not apply. To think anything else is not only absurd but arrogant. Your Hubris is absolutely astonishing." The Crown Prince said, speaking briefly in Taiyou to Admiral Yamamoto.

"The Nuclear ordinance was unauthorized and will be dealt with separately and internally." The Prince commented.

"Now, allow me to give you a lesson on the laws of war in This Galaxy." He said calmly. "Civilians, harboring enemy combatants are not absolved from engagement simply because they're Civilians. Civilians, especially neutral parties have a duty to stay out of the conflict, not harbor enemy combatants." He said calmly.

"If the Varden wish to operate, without every Nation in the galaxy desiring to remove them, and purport to be 'Humanitarian' rather than Imperialist. Then the Varden have a duty to operate with respect to the laws in this Galaxy." The Taiyou prince retorted.

Shimizu narrowed his eyes. "If the Terran civilians weren't harboring Aschen Imperialists, we would have no reason to pursue them. As for the Aschen, a Nation that disregards the laws of this Galaxy, deserves no protection from them, we were simply cleaning the Trash from Terran soil." He said.

A young Taiyou Lieutenant reported. "Calx Capacitors primed and ready, Light Hawk wings are ready for deployment."

The Prince nodded, and stared at the screen. "I don't think you have the... purest of Intentions, which menaces gravely the existence of this, and every nation in the Milky Way and Andromeda."

The Whisper continued to align with the Nagato. So did the other Varden ships.

"What authority do the Taiyou have to dictate the laws of an entire galaxy, especially one they do not control completely? Though it is true that the Andromeda and Milky Way galaxies will one day become one it has yet to happen. The Milky Way is not a province to be controlled or a state to bend wholly to any one nation or organization's laws. A just law is tempered with virtue. It is not rigid and bends to allow the application of a morally just code of ethics. Independant of the apparent philosophical argument neither you, I, or my superiors have the right to dictate foreign laws if the local government and related organizations deem those laws unlawful.

"Reparations should be made to the Terran government in an attempt to reverse the damage caused by your weapons. Our intent is clearly stated in the SOL Mandate. Do you wish to pursue your declaration of war?"

Shimizu cleared his throat, and he responded. "That is entirely up to my father. We will consider reparations if a formal apology is made to the Taiyou Empire, Furthermore you will remove all probing activities from our Galaxy. The Varden are unwelcome in Andromeda." Shimizu said flatly.

"You will forward me the Text of this SOL mandate, and you will cite the authority which you claim to enforce this mandate. Until you can satisfy this citation. You're little more than another ET Empire wanting a piece of the Milky Way Pie..." Shimizu was suddenly cut off.

"You are wrong.", Apis interrupted. Communications where terminated. The fifteen Varden ships had aligned with the Nagato but did nothing more. 'Destiny is prepared to fire. Aurora at 99% recovering at 1% per micron. Gang Capacitor is at 97% and stable.’, EGO displayed on his HUD.

Shimizu chuckled. "How their arguement crumbles when pressed." He said, the Admiral turning to look to the Prince.

"Shinno Heika, How should we proceed? They're powering weapons, I am confident the Light Hawk wings will preserve our ship in an attack, but I am concerned for the rest of my fleet."

Shimizu tapped his chin. "Claim to be so superior, and then their logic crumbles, severed by the Katana's edge." He said, clasping his hands behind him.

"Keep this up long enough the Coalition will be showing up. Maybe then the Varden will sit down and listen." The Prince said, turning to face the Admiral.

"I need to contact my Father, and ask how he wants us to proceed, In the mean time, Transmit a message to the Varden, They will be given passage to address the AXIS."

Another transmission originated from the Nagato, this time it was a set of coordinates, coordinates to a large station orbiting Niihama. And a simple text message.

"Be reasonable on the force you bring to this meeting, it will only hurt your position more."

A sleek diplomatic vessel dropped out of hyperspace, it's hull was marked with both SEC and ZAR emblems. The pilot was shocked as they seemed to drop into a battle. He put the shields up to full and then opened a STAT Comm to SEC Forward Space Command. "Command this is Eagle 8, We arrived at the SOL System but there is a conflict... requesting armed escort to protect the VIP." The pilot said into the comm. Normally a response would have taken at least 30 minutes but they had planned for this a small response force had been waiting just outside of the SOL system.

Two minutes later 4 sec Corvettes and 1 Battle Cruiser jumper out of hyperspace and into formation around the diplomatic vessel. "Rear Admiral Tanka to Eagle 8, We will escort you to the Terran Blockade but were going to have to leave you off there." The officer said.

The ships then began their slow approach. In the diplomatic Vessel Kilum Vontaru sat at a comm station as the comm officer looked up, "Communication opened with the Terran Fleet your clear to talk." He said.

"Attention Terran Fleet, My name is Kilum Vontaru Diplomatic Envoy to the Sullen Enterprise Confederacy. We mean you no harm only an audience with your leadership to reopen Trade between our two nations. We are also willing to give a gift to hopefully benefit our mutual gains. We can offer a small task force to assist in your defense. We have no motives to take over Terra but merly to help protect our customers, we have many private customers based on your planet as well and hope you may be interested in purchasing some of our many products. We will approach the Blockade as we await your response but go no further. I await your response." He said finally.

The Varden gang, fifteen vessels strong was still in orbit around Terra, having remained there since the Taiyou had started to bombard the Icy Peaks. On board the Whisper, Varden Fortress Class Capital Ship - FCV002, Admiral Rye Apis walked the decks and waited for word. He was the ship captain but it was Commodore Virth that informed him of the incoming fleet as he boarded a lift departing the pod control room. He had been plugged in for the last forty-eight hours and desperately needed some food and rest.

"Admiral. We have a fleet coming in hot with no designation. It seems to be mostly transport ships.", said Virth over the internal communication array. Apis just sighed and reversed the direction of the lift so that it would take him to the bridge. "Get target locks on the incoming ships but do not engage unless the incoming fleet presents a clear and present danger to us, the Terran fleet, or Terra itself. I am on my way to the bridge.", Apis replied. "Yes Admiral.", Virtha replied. Apis rubbed his eyes. "Frell. Frell. Frell. Frell! Frell!", he cursed. "Pardon Admiral? Is everything okay?", Virth replied. Apparently the internal communication array still had them connected. "Yeah. I am fine Commodore. I will be on the bridge in a moment.", Apis said, cleared his throat, and terminated the communications link.

Meanwhile another ship joined the growing congregation of vessels in Terran space. It was an Aschen Reverence S class vessel, and it appeared to be traveling alone with no escort as it left the atmosphere of Terra with its cargo.

"Start spooling up the FTL drives," Derek instructed as he watched the display screens within the CIC.

There was a wide array of ships out there and not all of them friendly. He didn't much care for the odds that someone might take a shot at a lone Aschen vessel.

He glanced over to Arrow and Oriel. "Best hold onto your hats, this could get rocky if anyone decides to open fire on us. You two ever been off Terra?" he asked.

The light conversation served to ease the tension of the situation.

"If anyone decides to open fire on us, he says, casual as can be." Oriel remarked dryly, failing to disguise the nervousness in his voice. "Marae preserve us..."

Arrow laughed, patting the gunslinger on the shoulder. "I'm sure everything's in hand. And no, I can't say we have. Not in this sense, at the least. I have to say, despite feeling a little out of my depth, I'm looking forward to seeing a little bit of what the rest of the galaxy has to offer. The adventurer in me is positively thrilled." The knight wore a smile despite the circumstances, apparently far more at ease than his companion.

"Attention!", Commodore Virtha called out as Admiral Apis stepped onto the command bridge. All that were standing stood at attention. "As you were.", Apis uttered and walked to Virtha. "Admiral. An Aschen vessel is exiting the atmosphere.", she said, motioning to a nearby holographic screen. Apis nodded. "Monitor the situation.", he said before replacing Virtha in the command chair. "Contala Tea, hot." A cup of the requested warm beverage materialized upon a small dark pad at his right hand.

"I thought the nature of this force was to bring supplies to Terra." Rythorn said to John, "You're telling me that you were lying to my face, now you want to go off to some corner to tell me what you're here for?" The Terran commander asked, "You must think I'm a fucking idiot, I don't know if I like that."

"And furthermore, I lead this force. Talking to the Invictus will only result in a suggestion being given to me, but suggestions are just that. They are not orders, or authority. Now, I have a suggestion for you, turn around and go home or this will end with someone dead." Captain Rythorn informed John and her people.

"Captain, that Aschen ship is leaving the planet." A bridge officer told Rythorn, "Make sure it's protected, once it leaves our space it's not our problem and you can pull back our people." Rythorn told the officer.

"Have it your way commander, but don't come crying to us when those Aschen start to glass your cities." She said and with that she shut the comm channel. "Helms man set the navigation course to coordinates 3-5-7-Echo-8 We will rendezvous with the fleet then head home." She walked along the small bridge back to her command chair and strapped herself in. "Coordinates locked we are clear for Ftl jump Capn'." The helmsman said with a tone of frustration in his voice. "Taskforce prepare ftl jump in one minute, I repeat sixty seconds to FTL." She said over the fleet comm. The other frigates and corvettes began to move into position as they made last minute calculations.

Stubborn Terrans, I suppose this is a step in the right direction for them but they are playing with fire. Maybe one day the lord will finally give them a break. With that thought she began to mutter a prayer as she waited for the countdown to finish.

All these ships collected in such a small grid space were bound to draw the attention of others. Metallic plates shifted ever so slightly as a lone corvette's warp tunnel collapsed. The Varden ship vented heat from its hyper drive and deployed a number of APDs but made no effort to communicate with the other ships on the grid, far, or extended. The one kilometer tall ship took no hostile action.

On board the captain was literally plugged into the ship's systems but the rest of the crew went about their activities as if there was a state of combat. Information detailing the ships on grid and observations made by the corvette's advanced sensor systems were relayed to SOL Stat and fleet command, up the chain to eventually reach both Fleet Admiral Arlan and Admiral Apis.

"Jump. Jump." Flashes lit the void as arcs of electromagnetic energy folded space in upon itself. From nearly halfway across the known universe ships jumped into the local space in the vicinity of the marker. The role of a beacon traditionally held by a deployed cynosural field was filled by the singularity the marker orbited. Observations made by the marker's sensors had been relayed to Inaya in Ayenee and then to Fleet Admiral Haldis.

A small number of vessels, fifteen in total appeared in the local space. Eight of the smallest of these ships, about a single kilometer tall at their long axis vanished a split second later. This left seven ships on the field and well within the massive tug of the gravity well but apparently unhampered by it. The ships that remained aligned in the direction of the HDS Erstürmen and then came to a full stop. Being that the distance that separate the new arrivals and the Cybran fleet was slightly more than a couple hundred astronomical units a space battle was unlikely unless one of the fleets closed on the other.

The fleet admiral's thoughts were translated into action as she was plugged directly into Godr, the thirteen kilometer tall ship that she piloted. It was her ship that hailed the Cybran fleet. "Alloway. This is Fleet Admiral Haldis of the Varden. Please identify yourself."

Command Bridge

The Rear Admiral swallowed, watching the crew with a glance to each of them as they started to shout that their was new ships. As he stood up and walked towards the glass screens, the ships lights flickered, and the glass screens lit up with the positions of the new vessels. "Get the Admiral up here, we have a situation."

"Yes sir!" Came a shout from one of the guarding Cybran Marines as they ran out the command bridge, running towards the massive ship hangars.

The Rear Admiral watched him go before placing his gloved hand softly on the screen, "Are they on the border or in the border?" He snapped, turning around to view the command staff, Their uniforms... So grubby. He shut his eyes calmly as he turned back around to the glass screens.

"Sir... They're within the border." Shouted out the Operation Commander of the sensor screens, "Fourteen units."

He shook his head, "Send the Frigates and the interceptors towards this fleet, I want their intentions."

Hangar bays

A Cybran Marine ran into the hangar bays, shouting on the Fleet Admiral, who quickly turned around along with his fellow Cybran Commanders, "What is it boy?!"

"We have a new fleet of vessels. The Rear Admiral asks if you can come up to the command bridge and give orders." The marine replied quickly, panting slightly. His eyes placed of the ZAR commanders while the Fleet Admiral just nodded slowly, and turned again.

"I am sorry my friends, I will leave you in the hands of these two while I see to this situation." He sighed before he turned swiftly and walked off towards the Command Bridge as the battle alarm went off.

Hangar Bay.

Both Will and Max nodded, "Another fleet?" Zarhara said wondering what was going on. He did not like that his ships were immobilized with in this massive vessel on bit.

ZAR Sepratist Response Fleet

Between the Varden and cybran fleets another fleet dropped out of hyperspace. Rear Admiral Gillian stood on the bridge of the of his flag ship Excalibur, an eclypse class star defender. This ship was accompanied by 3 carrier class ships and 4 destroyer class. There were no corvettes deployed currently though if the need arose Excalibur could deploy the 5 in her hangers.

Rear Admiral Gilian saw no sign of Zarharas fleet but there was still a faint signature. Where are you Will? He thought nervously as he looked out at what was going on when his science officer pulled him from his thoughts. "Sir I have black hole readings on the charts. The fleet to the our starboard is just beyond it but the hole is moving. We will need to make a coarse change soon."